Who Are You?

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"Anbu?"

When his mother, Minako, hurriedly pushed open the door, Uchiha Yue raised his eyebrows slightly and wondered why the Anbu would come looking for him.

In his previous life, whenever Uchiha Yue watched the original Naruto story, he'd always felt that the Anbu were just a bunch of extras who got killed soon after appearing. But after he'd truly transmigrated into the world of Naruto—especially this wartime version of it—he finally understood just how fearsome the Anbu's reputation was in Konoha.

The Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, commonly known as the Anbu!

After the Second Hokage took office and assumed control of Konoha, he began organizing this special unit to ease the village's crisis in the shinobi wars. When the Anbu were first established, their main duties were to protect their village's "Shadow" and guard against foreign invasions. But as the wars continued to erupt, their workload steadily increased. They had to gather intelligence on the enemy in hostile conditions, carry out assassination missions, and even hunt down missing-nin from their own villages.

Konoha's success in forming the Anbu gave it a certain advantage in the shinobi wars. Before long, the other villages had begun following its example and creating their own Anbu units.

To ensure the Anbu could carry out such difficult missions, every village had strict selection standards. They chose outstanding ninja from among their ranks and put them through rigorous, specialized training. And because the missions the Anbu undertook were usually highly classified, even their members' personal information was kept secret. Members also wore special masks while on missions and addressed one another by code names.

At first, the village's "Shadow" had held the Anbu's authority firmly in his own hands. After all, if such a special unit fell under the control of a hostile ninja, it could plunge the entire village into chaos. However, early in the Third Hokage's tenure, Konoha's political situation was still somewhat unstable. To better consolidate his position, the Third Hokage divided control of the Anbu, handing part of it to the Council of Elders and some of Konoha's other powerful figures.

At that moment, seeing an Anbu member come to his door in person, Uchiha Yue couldn't possibly feel completely calm.

Still, when he saw the panic on his mother Minako's face, he immediately forced himself to stay composed. To keep her from worrying, he smiled and reassured her. "Mother, I don't think the Anbu came looking for me with any bad intentions. Yesterday, my teacher said she'd send one of her Anbu to guide my training. The Anbu member waiting outside must be the one she sent, so there's no need to worry."

"Phew. So that's what it is."

In Konoha, having the Anbu come to your door to summon you was a lot like the police asking you to come down to the station in his previous life. No wonder Minako was so nervous. But after hearing Yue's reassurance, the tension in her heart eased at once. She stepped forward, gently stroked his hair, and smiled. "Yue, when you train under Lady Tsunade, make sure you do as she says, understand? You're about to graduate from the Ninja Academy and become a real ninja. You can't keep acting so recklessly."

As she spoke, a fond smile appeared on Minako's face. "Our Yue is so talented, and with a powerful person like Lady Tsunade guiding you, you'll surely become an excellent ninja. Once you grow strong enough to protect the village, maybe you'll be the one protecting me instead of me protecting you. So make sure you train hard, Yue!"

"Mm! I'll train hard!"

As Minako spoke, Uchiha Yue's eyes filled with determination. He nodded firmly to his mother.

But since the Anbu member was still waiting in the living room, Uchiha Yue didn't linger with Minako in his room. After reassuring her a little more, he went alone to the living room, where he found a ninja in Konoha Anbu attire sitting and waiting.

"Hmm? That's strange..."

The moment Uchiha Yue saw the Anbu member, a strange feeling stirred in his heart. It was as if he knew the person in front of him. Of course, a student at the Ninja Academy like him couldn't possibly know a Konoha Anbu member. They belonged to entirely different worlds.

That familiar feeling from the Anbu member put Uchiha Yue on his guard at once.

When the Anbu member saw that Uchiha Yue had finally arrived, he got straight to business and asked coldly, "You're Uchiha Yue, right?"

"That's right. I'm Uchiha Yue."

"Good. Come with me!"

Perhaps because of the nature of his work, the Anbu member seemed rather cold. He immediately prepared to take Uchiha Yue away.

Hearing this, Uchiha Yue simply nodded. He was ready to follow the Anbu member and find out which important figure in Konoha wanted to see him.

However, as Uchiha Yue followed him through the village, he realized they weren't heading toward a residential area. Judging by the direction the Anbu member was leading him, they were going to one of Konoha's training grounds. That only made Uchiha Yue more confused.

"Who wants to see me? Why go all the way to a training ground?"

Could this really be someone Lady Tsunade sent to test how much progress I've made?

His mind full of questions, Uchiha Yue could only follow behind the Anbu member and proceed cautiously.

But...

When Uchiha Yue finally arrived at the training ground, he saw that there was no one else around—just him and the Anbu member. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Without the slightest hesitation, he plunged his right hand into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out six kunai, and hurled them at the Anbu member!

"Whoosh... whoosh..."

After a long period of training, Uchiha Yue had become extremely skilled at throwing kunai. The six blades traced graceful arcs through the air, sealing off every possible escape route. But the gap between his strength and the Anbu member's was simply too great. Even with his escape routes blocked by the six kunai, the Anbu member needed only to draw his own kunai and deflect them with a few light movements to completely neutralize Yue's attack.

Yet when Uchiha Yue saw how easily the other person had deflected his attack, his expression didn't change in the slightest.

At that moment, Uchiha Yue kept his eyes fixed on the Anbu member. His gaze narrowed, and he asked coldly,

"You're not an Anbu member."

"Who are you, really?"